Lung cancer is often subdivided according to the size of cancer cells. The two categories are small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. Non-small cell lung cancer accounts for 80 to 90 percent of lung cancer cases in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society.
Surgery
Surgery is the best treatment option for early stage non-small cell lung cancers, according to the book "Clinical Oncology." For advanced cancer cases, surgery is not usually considered as the first line of treatment, according to UpToDate.com. This is due to the fact that surgical removal of the primary tumor has not been shown to improve survival among patients diagnosed with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill or to stop cancer cells from growing and multiplying. According to Cancerhelp.org.uk, chemotherapy agents used to treat non-small cell lung cancer include ifosfamide, mitomycin, cisplatin, gemcitabine, doxorubicin, vinorelbine, pemetrexed, etoposide and topotecan. Chemotherapy agents are often combined to enhance their therapeutic effects.
Targeted chemotherapy agents such as Erlotinib and Gefitinib work by blocking epidermal growth factor receptors that are involved in many important cancer cell activities.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is the use of high energy X-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors, and can be used to treat patients with early stage non-small cell lung cancer. It is often combined with chemotherapy to treat patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
References
- American Cancer Society: Non-small cell lung cancer
- "Clinical Oncology"; Abeloff, et al.; 2007
- UpToDate.com: Lung Cancer Treatment
